Bernard Fassier: "NK conflict can be solved in a way that satisfies the sides 80 percent"

The co-chair reminded the statistics of the meetings held last year. He said that the co-chairs met with Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers for 12 times and visited the region for three times in 2005. OSCE Fact-Finding Mission investigated illegal settling in the occupied territories, met with one President for seven times and with the other for eight times and organized two meetings between the Presidents.

"The objective of the all meetings was to determine main principles of peace agreement. The talks at Rambouillet were to increase the number of agreements. Regrettably, the Presidents could not reach a consensus on main principles," Fassier said.

The Minsk Group co-chair stressed both sides are responsible for the failure. He said he shares the opinion "there should be a peace that satisfies both sides" voiced by Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev during his talks with him.

Fassier also said that he will visit Yerevan tomorrow and the co-chairs will meet in Moscow following that. American co-chair Steven Mann and Russian co-chair Yuri Merzlyakov will visit the region by the end of April. He also said the co-chairs might pay a joint visit to the region by the end of April.

"The co-chairs will meet in Moscow in May to consult together on the talks held in April, and to determine the base of future peace agreement and will visit the region in May. The objective of the visit is to organize the meeting of the Presidents," the co-chair reported.

Bernard Fassier hopes the co-chairs will be able to make both Presidents agree to the meeting. The French diplomat thinks there exist opportunities to achieve improvements. Admitting that decisions will be very difficult, the co-chair underlined that there is no peace agreement that can meet interests of both sides 100 percent.

"However, there is a way out that can satisfy both sides 80 percent," he emphasized.

Fassier reiterated that war is not the solution way.

Commenting on the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's new proposal to Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers, the co-chair said that the new proposal has not been made by the United States only.

"Condoleezza Rice conveyed opinions shared by the three co-chairing countries," he concluded.